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News4's Megan McGrath looks at preparations for the Congressional Baseball Game on Thursday night. (Published Thursday, June 15, 2017)

Played every year for more than 100 years, The Congressional Baseball Game for Charity has taken on new significance as people rally around the victims of the shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday and call for bipartisan unity.

The friendly, but competitive, game is set to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday.

"We must play this baseball game. If we don't play this baseball game and we go home, then they win," Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, said. One of his aides was shot and wounded.

It was unclear if the game at Nationals Park in Washington would go on after a gunman opened fire on the Republican team's practice in nearby Alexandria Wednesday morning, wounding a top Republican.

But House Speaker Paul Ryan announced to cheers in a House members' meeting that the charity game would continue as scheduled in spite of the attack, NBC News reported.

The Virginia shooting left five people hospitalized, including Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the Republican whip; two Capitol Police officers; a lobbyist and Williams' aide. The gunman, identified by NBC News sources as James T. Hodgkinson, from Illinois, was shot by police who responded to the scene.

He later died, President Donald Trump announced. Congressmen said the gunman had a rifle and fired dozens of rounds.

Democrats also were practicing Wednesday morning when word came in that the shooting occurred. Rep. Ruben J. Kihuen, D-Nev., tweeted a photo of the team praying for the safety of their colleagues.

Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., thought it was right that the game continue Thursday.

"Absolutely the game should go on," he said on MSNBC. "I think we should be able to to raise even more money for local D.C. charities and send a message to those who practice this type of hate."

The game is one of the most anticipated events of summer at the Capitol, with Democrats and Republicans splitting the 79 games that have been played over the years 39-39, with one tie. Democrats were on a winning streak for several years before the Republicans won the last game in a squeaker, 8-7.

"It's a pretty good time for all, except for the fact that the Democrats beat us so much," Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., said on CNN before describing what happened.

Members of the House and Senate take part in the game, often wearing jerseys from their favorite teams back home.

"I think after the election of President Trump, Democrats are going to be motivated to be pretty active in their chants. By the same token, I think our fans will be just as motivated," he told Roll Call last week. Barton was not hurt in the shooting.

The Democrats' manager, Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., reminded his team to "Clear your schedules. I stress that we still have a lot of work to do," he told Roll Call last week.